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Tom Brady's Agent Responds to Retirement Report; Bucs GM Reportedly Told No Decision
January 29, 2022
Tom Brady's reported retirement is causing a firestorm of confusion and speculation.
ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington first reported Brady will retire after a 22-year NFL career.
But Brady's agent, Don Yee, issued a statement to Schefter calling the report "advance speculation" and saying his client "will be the only person to express his plans with complete accuracy" at some point.
In a text to The MMQB's Albert Breer, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said he hadn't heard anything from Brady.
Michael Silver then reported for Bally Sports that Brady contacted Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht to inform him he had yet to make a final decision about his future.
"Licht is respecting Brady's process and waiting for a definitive answer, whenever it comes, from the QB," Silver wrote.
The Buccaneers won the Super Bowl in Brady's first season with the team in 2020. They won the NFC South this season for the first time since 2007, but their playoff run was cut short with a 30-27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Round on Jan. 23.
Prior to kickoff against the Rams, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported the talk of Brady potentially retiring was "an issue to be concerned about and paid attention to."
Speaking on the Jan. 24 episode of his Let's Go! podcast (h/t Joyce Li of Hypebeast), Brady said his family was going to play a big role in whatever decision he made:
"I said this a few years ago, it's what relationships are all about. It's not always what I want. It's what we want as a family. And I'm gonna spend a lot of time with them and figure out in the future what's next.
"It pains her to see me get hit out there. And she deserves what she needs from me as a husband, and my kids deserve what they need from me as a dad."
Brady's status for 2022 clearly has huge ramifications for the Bucs and the entire NFL. He is coming off one of the most dominant seasons of his career. The 44-year-old led the league in completions (485), attempts (719), passing yards (5,316) and passing touchdowns (43) during the regular season.
Dating back to his first year as a starting quarterback in 2001, Brady's teams have only missed the postseason once when he plays an entire season (2002). (The New England Patriots missed the playoffs in 2008, but Brady tore his ACL in Week 1.)
Brady's teams have played in five of the past seven Super Bowls, including this season. They won four championships during that span.
Prior to Brady's arrival in Tampa Bay, the franchise hadn't made the playoffs since 2007 and hadn't won a playoff game since Super Bowl XXXVII in January 2003.